HBO renews Dwayne Johnson's "Ballers"

Jul 21, 2015 | 8:29 AM

HBO has renewed Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's the series "Ballers" for a second season, announced Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.

“The charismatic and hugely talented Dwayne Johnson, along with the rest of the "Ballers" cast, has truly struck a chord with the HBO audience,” says Lombardo. “We are thrilled with the overwhelming response the series has received and look forward to another exciting season.”

"Ballers" looks at the lives of former and current football players, following former superstar Spencer Strasmore, played by Freedom grad Johnson, who is trying to reinvent himself as a financial manager for current players in sunsoaked Miami. The series was created by Stephen Levinson of HBO’s “Entourage” and “Boardwalk Empire.”

The series which airs at 10 p.m. Sundays attracted 8.9 million viewers across HBO’s platforms for its first episode, making it HBO’s most watched first episode of a half-hour series since 2009. The episode also has had 5.6 million views on Johnson’s Facebook page.

Other cast members include John David Washington, Omar Miller, Donovan W. Carter, Troy Garity, London Brown Jazmyn Simon and Rob Corddry.

Johnson, who attended Freedom High School in 11th and 12th grades, started out as a professional wrestler known as The Rock. He left World Wrestling Entertainment in 2003 to pursue an acting career, which quickly took off with "The Scorpion King.